Mobile track aligning machine



April 6, 1965 Filed May 11, 1962 F. PLASSER ETAL 3,176,625

MOBILE TRACK ALIGNING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 VIN VEN 1 CR5. fin/w.14:;64

April 6, 1965 F. PLASSER ETAL MOBILE TRACK ALIGNING MACHINE 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May ll, 1962 IN VENT 0R5. fl mvz fizyasz'n By 02 EFVan/nae yen r United States Patent 0 The present invention relates toimprovements in track aligning machines, and more particularly to therecently introduced mobile track tampers designed for track grading,including alignment of the track in its plane.

According to this invention, the heavy chassis of a track tamping andaligning machine has mounted thereon a track aligning mechanismincluding a pivotal arm extending outwardly from the rear end of themachine chassis. Bearing means is provided for mounting one of the armends on the machine chassis While means for engaging at least one railof the track is provided on the other arm end. There is also providedpower means, for instance hydraulic motor means, for pivoting the armand the rail engaging means is designed to transmit the pivoting powerto the rail.

Since the chassis of conventional track tampers, which carries the heavytamping tool means as well as the usually hydraulic power plant, is ofsufficient weight to constitute a solid counterweight to the pivotingarm, such an arm may be used without difficulty for moving the track inrelation to the chassis vertically and/ or horizontally'at a distancefrom the chassis while the track will remain stationary underneath thechassis whose weight pins the track to the ballast.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the in vention, thefriction between the track and the ballast during horizontal alignmentof the track is reduced by associating vibrating means with the railengaging means for imparting a preferably undirectional reciprocatingmotion to the rail engaging means. With high-frequency vibrations ofthis type, considerably less power is required for pushing the trackhorizontally in relation to the ballast. Such pushing may be furtherfacilitated and the frictionreduced to a minimum if the arm slightlylifts the track off the ballast before or during the horizontalalignment.

As indicated hereinabove, it is essential for the machine chassis to beheavy enough to serve as a fixed. point for the pivoting forces of thearm extending outwardly from the chassis. This is Well accomplished witha mobile track tamping and alignment machine which is not only heavyenough for this purpose but which also makes it possible to align andfix a track in an automated and continuous operation, particularly whenthe arm extends from the rear end of the chassis while the front endcarries a suitable track grading mechanism. Thus, as such a machineproceeds continuously along the track, the track is first verticallypositioned according to the desired grade,

the ballast is tamped under the track ties to fix the track in thegraded position and the track is finally aligned in its graded plane toassure a correctly graded and aligned track in a continuous operationwith the aid of a single machine.

The above and other objects, advantages and features of the presentinvention will be more fully understood by reference to the followingdetailed description of certain preferred embodiments thereof, taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawing wherein FIG. 1 is a side viewof one embodiment of a track tamping and aligning machine according tothe in vention;

FIG. 2 is a top view of FIG. 1, with the roof of the amass Patented Apr.6, 1965 machine chassis partly broken away to show the bearing and powerpivoting means for the pivotal arm;

FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of another machine embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a top view of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to that of FIG. 3 but with outwardly extendingparts of the machine folded together; FIG. 6 is a top view showing onedetail of the machine of FIGS. 3-5; and

FIG. 7 is a side view showing another detail of this machine.

Referring now to the drawing and first to the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and2,'there is shown a chassis 1 of a generally conventional track tampingand aligning machine. Since such machines and their various structuralfeatures form no part of the present invention, except inasmuch as theyare combined with the characteristic parts claimed herein, no detaileddescriptionor drawing of such features is presented. A track tamping andaligning machine useful in the present invention has been described andclaimed, for instance, in our copending application Serial No. 27,578,filed May 9, 1960, or in our copending application Serial No. 93,123,filed Marc As described in these copending applications, a conventionaltrack tamping machine carrying ballast tamping means 2 has mounted atthe front end of machine chassis 1 a suitable means'for lifting thetrack 7 on which the machine chassis moves. As fully described inapplication Serial No. 93,123, for instance, the track grading mechanismat'thc front end of the tamper may include a measuring scale 3cooperating with a suitable reference line, such as a tensioned wire(not shown), to determine the desired grade and hydraulic track jackmeans 4, 5 for gripping and lifting the track to the grade determined bythe reference line. a suitable power plant 6 for driving the variousmovable parts of the machine, including the hydraulic motor means andthe wheels on which the chassis moves on the track. Neither the tamping,grading or driving means schematically described and shown herein formpart of the present invention, except as far as they constitute a newcombination with the other parts of the track align-.

ing machine.

According to this invention, a pivotal arm 8 extends outwardly from oneof the ends of machine chassis 1, which is the rear end of the chassisin the illustrated preferred embodiments. One end of the arm 8 ismounted in.

bearing means constituted by hearing sleeve 11 on the rear end of thechassis. Means is provided at the other arm end for engaging at leastone rail of the track, the illustrated engaging means being a.plate-shaped rail gripping member 9 extending transversely of the trackand having pairs of prongs 9a, 9a at each end for powertransmittingengagement with each track rail.

The plate-shaped portion of the rail gripping member 9 carries asuitable vibrating means it), such as a conven tional eccentric motordisclosed, for instance, inGerman Patent No. 1,084,288, for impartingvibrations to the rail engaging means, preferably unidirectionalvibrations, such 7 as indicated by the arrows 9b.

To enable the machine to be readily moved over long distances withoutimpediment by the outwardly extending arm 8, means is provided formoving the arm in the bearing means 11 inwardly into the machinechassis 1. For this purpose, the inner arm end is slidably mounted inbearing sleeve 11 and a rack 12' on the arm meshingly engages a pinion12 mounted onthe bearing sleeve. The.

bearing sleeve 11 is mounted onthe chassis on pivotal bracket 11a whichis supported on the chassis on a universal mounting. This enables thebracket and, therefore, the bearing sleeve and the arm's to be pivotedin a vertical The machine chassis 1 also carries,

plane extending in the direction of the track about a fulcrum extendingtransversely of the track as well as to be pivoted in a horizontal planeparallel to the track and about a fulcruni extending perpendicularly tothe track so that the outer end of the arm swings in the direction ofarrows 8a. A hydraulic motor means 13 is linked to the chassis and thebearing sleeve, respectively, to effectuate the pivotal movement in thevertical plane and thus to enable the" outer arm end to be liftedslightly off the ballast during the aligning operation to be describedhereinafter. It'also enables a more drastic pivotal movement of thebearing sleeve 11 and arm 8 tobring it into a horizontal positionwhereinth'e arm'm'ay. be withdrawn through the sleeve into the chassis,the pinion 12 being driven by motor 12?. In this non-operationalposition of pivotal arm 8, the machine may be readily moved forlong-distance-hauling.

In the operational position when the arm is used to move the track inits horizontal'plane'in the direction of arrows'8a and thus to align thetrack, it may be preferred, as mentioned hereinabove, to lift the trackslightly off the ballast to reduce friction. This horizontal movement isfurther facilitated by the transverse vibrating motion imparted to therail gripping member 9 by operation'of vibrator 10. In a manner wellknown and, therefore, not shown, the rail gripping prongs 9:: may beoperated to clamp the rails so that the rails may be lifted when the arm8 is lifted, as well as being laterally moved by the transverse pivotingof the arm. This transverse pivoting movement is elf ected by anotherhydraulic motor'means illustrated to consist of a pair of hydraulicmotors 14, 14 linked, respectively, to the chassis land to'the supportbracket 11a of bearing sleeve 11'. When transverse pivoting of'arm 8 isto be effected, the hydraulic motors 14 are so operated that the pistonof one motor is pushed outwardly while the piston of theother motor ispushed inwardly by the same stroke, until the track rails have beenlaterally moved into the desired position;

While hydraulic pivoting-means have been shown and found to be mostuseful, it will be obvious to those skilled in the artthat they could bereplaced by any suitable power means effective to pivot arm 8 and thatany suitable rail engaging means'maybe mounted on the outer end of thepivotal arm for transmitting the mounting power to the track rails.

The conventional parts of the track tamping and aligning machine of theembodiment of FIGS. 3 to 7 being generally the same as those of FIGS. 1and 2, they have been designated by the same reference numerals to avoidredundancy in the description.

In FIGS..3 and 4, the track grading mechanism at-the front end of thechassis is shown to include the tensioned wire 21 which cooperateswiththe measuring scale 3 to guide the operation of the track liftingmeans 3,4. As is fully described in our above-mentioned copendingapplications, the tensioned Wire 21 extends from a front bogie to awind-up roll 20' mounted on the chassis vertically above a point of thetrack section which has previously been graded, i.e. above the frontaxle of the chassis. In this manner, the heavy track tamper itself maybe used as a reference point'for grading track 3% in a manner fullydescribed in our copending applications. Thus, as the track tamping andaligning machine advances along track 30 toward the left, as seen inFIG. 3, the track is first graded and then fixed in the graded positionby tamping the ballast under the graded track ties. The transversealignment of the previously graded track is effected on the tampedballastwith the mechanism mounted at the rear end of the machinechassis.

This transverse alignment is guided by another tensioned wire 21associated with a track rail and extending in the general direction ofthe track from the front end of chassis 1 to an anchor means 22 spacedrearwardly from the rear endof the chassis and mounted on an end bogie22, The tensioned wire 21' serves as a reference 4 line for thetransverse alignment of the track rails in a manner well known in theart.

The end bogie is spaced from the chassis 1 by means of a plurality oftrucks 2?; which travel on the track on wheels or rollers 23 so that theentire assembly advances on the track 30 in unison.

In this embodiment, the vertical pivoting means for pivotal arm 8'comprises two drive means, each consisting of a pair of hydraulicmotors. When it is desired to lift the track 3'3 off the ballast, thepair of hydraulic motors is operated so that their pistons push theouter arm end upwardly while the other pair of hydraulicmotors 24simultaneously pulls this arm end upwardly. With this pivotingarrangement, slight lifting of the track 34} causes the track in therange of the rear axle of the chassis to be subjected to such heavydownwardpressure that its resultant friction with the ballast issufiicient to absorb the horizontal pressure forces caused by thelateral movement of the track so that the track moves only in the rangeof the rail engaging means 9' but remains stationary at the point of therear axle. In this pivoting operation, the heavy track tamper itselfserves as a fixed counter-weight to the pivoting arm 3. The horizontalpressure forces are further reduced by vibrating'the rail engaging means9' transversely, i.e. by reciprocating the rail engaging means in thegeneral direction of its lateral swinging motion.

While FIGS. 3 and 4 show the track tamping and aligning machine inoperating position, FIG. 5 schematically illustrates the machine withits front and rear bogies 20 and 22 moved into a compact unit with themachine chassis; To make a folding of the rear aligning assemblypossible, the pivotal arm 3 itself may be constituted by a plurality ofhinged lengths whereby the arm may be folded or collapsed duringnon-use. Also, the spacing trucks 23 may be pivotally' coupled togetherwhereby the trucks may be folded or collapsed about their pivotalcouplings, like scissors.

This pivotal coupling is clearly shown in FIG. 6. Each truck 23comprises two frame parts of about equallength. The forwardly extendingframe part 23a of each truck 23 has a yoke 26 with'a transverselyextending axle 28. The freely pivotal coupling 27 is slidably mounted onaxle 28 and centered thereon bya pair of springs 29 bearing against theyoke and the coupling, respectively. A transverse brace 26' connects theends of theyoke and rests on the rearwardly extending frame part 23b ofthe next adjacent truck 23.

The forwardly and rearwardly extending truck parts are hingedlyconnected so that the trucks may be folded about their center at whichpoint they are supported on wheels or rollers 23, for mobility on thetrack. Thus, the entire assembly of spacing trucks may be foldedtogether like an accordion while the'truck wheels remain on the track(see FIG. 5).

As seen in FIG. 7, the last truck 23 carries a member 31 which isarranged to glide along the track rail and is resiliently pressedthereagainst so that the anchor means 22, 22' of the tensioned wire 21'provides a proper reference line for the track aligning operation. Whenthe,

rear assembly is collapsed, as shown in FIG. 5 and the truck part 23a isfolded uywardly (see. arrow and broken lines in FIG. 7), the member 31will also move upwardly out of contact with the. rail.

Since the present invention is not concerned with the control of thegrading or aligning operation by means of reference lines 21 and 21',this has not beenfurther described herein, any suitable control beinguseful with the machineof this invention. The essential element in theclaimed combination is the rearwardly extending pivota1 arm mounted on aheavy chassis and pivotal by power means effective to transmit thepivoting power to the track. The pivoting movement of the arm in ahorizontal direction may be effected by rail engaging means which engagethe rail only laterally. For pivotal movement of the track in a verticaldirection, the rail engaging 5 means must be capable of clamping orgripping the rail so as to keep it engaged when the rail is lifted offthe ballast.

While the invention has thus been described in connection with certainnow preferred embodiments, it will be clearly understood that manyvariations and modifications may occur to those skilled in the art,particularly after benefiting from the present teaching, withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of this invention as defined in theappended claims.

What we claim is:

1. A track tamping and aligning machine comprising a machine chassiswith mobility on the track and having a front end and a rear end, tracktamping means mounted on said chassis, means for lifting the trackmounted at the front end of the machine chassis, a pivotal arm extendingoutwardly from the rear end of said machine chassis and said arm havingtwo ends, bearing means for mounting one of the arm ends on the machinechassis, power means mounted on the machine chassis and operativelyconnected to the pivotal arm for pivoting said arm, and means on theother end of the arm for engaging at least one rail of the track and fortransmitting the pivoting movement of said arm to said rail.

2. The track tamping and aligning machine of claim 1, further comprisingmeans for moving the pivotal arm in said bearing means inwardly into themachine chassis.

3. The track tamping and aligning machine of claim 1, wherein said powermeans comprises drive means mounted on the chassis and arranged to movesaid one arm end laterally in respect of the track axis.

4. The track tamping and aligning machine of claim 3, wherein said drivemeans comprises hydraulic motor means.

5. The track tamping and aligning machine of claim 1, further comprisinga reference line associated with a track rail for aligning the railtherewith, an anchor means spaced from the rear end of the chassis andholding an end of the reference line, and a plurality of trucks withmobility on the track, said trucks being arranged adjacent each otherbetween the other arm end and the anchor means for spacing the anchormeans from the other arm end.

6. The track tamping and aligning machine of claim 5, comprising meansfor pivotally coupling the trucks to each other whereby said trucks maybe folded together about their pivotal couplings.

7. The track tamping and aligning machine of claim 5, wherein each truckis mounted on wheel means arranged in the center of the truck, eachtruck having two parts hingedly connected at said center and upwardlyfoldahle about said center, a rearwardly extending one of the parts ofeach of said trucks being pivotally coupled to a forwardly extending oneof said parts of an adjacent one of said trucks whereby the wheel meansof the adjacent trucks may be rolled closely together on the track withthe truck parts extending upwardly therefrom in folded condition.

488,364 12/29 Germany. 568,555 2/33 Germany.

OTHER REFERENCES Ripper: German application, 1,084,288, printed JuneEUGENE G. BOTZ, Primary Examiner.

LEO QUACKENBUSH, Examiner.

1. A TRACK TAMPING AND ALIGNING MACHINE COMPRISING A MACHINE CHASSISWITH A MOBILITY ON THE TRACK AND HAVING A FRONT END AND A REAR END,TRACK TAMPING MEANS MOUNTED ON SAID CHASSIS, MEANS FOR LIFTING THE TRACKMOUNTED AT THE FRONT END OF THE MACHINE CHASSIS, A PIVOTAL ARM EXTENDINGOUTWARDLY FROM THE REAR END OF SAID MACHINE CHASSIS AND SAID ARM HAVINGTWO ENDS, BEARING MEANS FOR MOUNTING ONE OF THE ARM ENDS ON THE MACHINECHASSIS, POWER MEANS MOUNTED ON THE MACHINE CHASSIS AND OPERATIVELYCONNECTED TO THE PIVOTAL ARM FOR PIVOTING SAID ARM, AND MEANS ON THEOTHER END OF THE ARM FOR ENGAGING AT LEAST ONE RAIL OF THE TRACK AND FORTRANSMITTING THE PIVOTING MOVEMENT OF SAID ARM TO SAID RAIL.